Gerrard Kaonga
A gut-wrenching simulation shows exactly what happened to the unfortunate cave explorer who suffered the 'worst death' imaginable.
John Edward Jones went into the infamous Nutty Putty cave on November 24, 2009 - but he unfortunately never came back out.
Jones’ story has long circulated on social media due to the tragic - and equally horrifying - circumstances, and people remain fascinated with his death.
Some have even described Jones’ death as 'the worst imaginable' due to the sheer panic and fear that would have sunk in during his futile attempts to escape.
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The 26-year-old, his brother Josh and some family friends were exploring the Nutty Putty Cave, located approximately 55 miles from Salt Lake City, in November 2009.
Jones was an experience spelunker and medical student but during his expedition he came to a daunting realization.
He decided to try and find the formation known as the Birth Canal, which is a tight passage that spelunkers must crawl through carefully
Thinking he was on the right track and had found the Birth Canal, Jones inched himself into a narrow passage before realizing he had made a grave error.
Jones ended up trapped in a space measuring just 10 inches across and 18 inches high and not only that, but he was upside down.
A video on the YouTube channel Storified detailed the incident and used a simulation to explain just how bad the situation was.
The narrator in the clip stated: “In order to reach the opening, John exhaled the air in his lungs to be able to fit and slide over a lip of rock and down into the 10 inch wide side of the crevice.
“But when his chest expanded again while inhaling he was stuck. Struggling to free himself only made John slide deeper into the narrower 8 ½ inch wide side of the opening.
“With one arm pinned underneath him and the other forced backward by an outcropping of rock, he found himself helplessly wedged in an upside-down position at a daunting 70-degree angle.”
After a pulley system failed, John seemed to admit defeat and said: “I’m going to die right here. I’m not going to come out of here, am I?”
John eventually fell silent and later falling unconscious. After being trapped for approximately 27-28 hours, his heart gave out and he tragically died of cardiac arrest.
A plaque was erected commemorating Jones at the entrance of the cave.